Sidelined for eight months, EJ Laure expressed her relief and excitement as she finally made her debut for Nxled in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
Laure had missed the entire 2024 Reinforced Conference with Chery Tiggo due to a persistent shoulder injury. Ahead of the All-Filipino tournament, she parted ways with the Crossovers and joined the Chameleons. However, her recovery kept her out of action during the first half of the eliminations.
“Yun naman talaga ang nilo-look forward ko ngayon na siyempre ma-feel ko ulit ‘yung court na ang tagal ko din nawala,” said the former UST standout after Nxled’s straight-sets loss to Farm Fresh on Saturday.
In her much-awaited return, Laure played off the bench in the first set before earning a starting role in the next two frames.
She tallied eight points in the match, but her contributions weren’t enough to halt the Chameleons’ struggles, as they fell to 0-6 in the standings.
This marked the team’s 13th consecutive loss, dating back to last year’s Reinforced Conference.
(C) PVL Images
Despite the challenging circumstances, Laure shared that she adjusted quickly to the system of Italian head coach Ettore Guidetti.
Her prior experience playing for various coaches at Foton and Chery Tiggo had prepared her well for such transitions.
“Actually, nung nasa Foton, Chery naman ako, iba-iba naman ‘yung mga coaches so parang nag-adjust din ako with their program, so hindi naman mahirap,” she explained.
Laure remains optimistic about her team’s potential, confident that their hard work in training will soon translate into success on the court.
She highlighted the team’s competitive spirit during practices and hopes to see the same intensity during matches.
“Sobra ‘yung potential nila na lahat talaga competitive pag sa training. Gusto ko talaga makita sa kanila ‘yung lumalaban every game na bibigyan namin sila ng fight [every game],” said the 27-year-old outside hitter.
“Ang mindset ko and namin siyempre bibigay pa rin namin ‘yung best namin kasi maganda naman talaga tinatraining namin, gagawin lang namin siya sa game.”
Laure, who is currently immersed in wedding preparations with former child star Bugoy Cariño, admitted to missing a few practices but assured that she’s working twice as hard to make up for it in training.
“Hindi ako nakaka-attend minsan ng training, pero nagdo-double time ako para maka-catch up sa na-misss ko sa training. Siguro kapag kunwari may meetings regarding sa wedding after the training.”
